On 1 May 2004 the European Union carried out the biggest expansion process in its history when 10 new members joined. The final form of the European Union - in regard to its political structure as well as its geographical expansion - has however not yet been reached.

How do the visual perceptions of Europe come into being? What are the pictures that represent Europe? Do traditional symbols -such as the EU-flag and the €-sign - have the effect of creating identity or is this achieved rather by those pictures that make up our daily pictorial environment in the information and media society?

The EU – a bureaucracy remote from its citizens? This is the image of the EU that its citizens have, and the European Union has a hard time shaking it off. The EU itself has recognized the problem: "It [the EU] has focussed largely on telling people what the EU does: less attention has been paid to listening to people’s views." (White Paper, COM(2006) 35 final, Brussels 01.02.2006, p. 4).